Monday, January 07, 2013

On the Arab monarchies

"However, the monarchies are running on borrowed time, and most are in
worst straits than a decade ago. In Bahrain, for example, a mass
uprising was stopped only through the combined efforts of the national
security forces and the Gulf Cooperation Council’s military
intervention. Morocco faced serious protests as well. There, the promise
of constitutional revisions temporarily quieted public anger, but by
accepting integration without meaningful political reform, the Islamist
Justice and Development Party — the face of parliamentary opposition —
now risk losing credibility like the rest of the political class.
Moreover, the urban-rural divide is no longer salient; dissent is now
everywhere, and demands for change have cut across old class and
provincial lines.
Like Morocco, the Saudi monarchy is thickly embedded in society.
Blessed by geology, it has used its enormous oil revenues to offset
overt opposition with new welfare and development programmes, which has
allowed the regime to defer more fundamental structural reforms. The
opposite is true in oil-rich Kuwait. There, constant street protests
against corruption and royal meddling have undermined the Al-Sabah
family and the December 2012 elections were boycotted by the opposition.
This tug-of-war between the monarchy and parliament has culminated in a
critical juncture: either the regime accepts a prime minister who is a
commoner, and thus beyond the emir’s control, or it must shut down
parliament and backslide to authoritarianism at a very high cost.
In Jordan, the monarchy has become suffocated by two complementary
forces. The Islamists want to preserve the monarchy, because the
collapse of monarchical rule would allow Israel to portray the East Bank
as the new alternative homeland for all Palestinians and thus justify
the annexation of the whole of the West Bank. Yet they also desire
constitutional monarchy, with greater political freedoms. The monarchy’s
Bedouin tribal bedrock has become restless due to rising unemployment
and corruption, which allows them to accuse the regime of favouring the
wealthier Palestinian majority."

Comic by Terry Furry, reproduced from "Heard the One About the Funny Leftist?" by Cris Thompson, East Bay Express

As'ad's Bio

As'ad AbuKhalil, born March 16, 1960. From Tyre, Lebanon, grew up in Beirut. Received his BA and MA from American University of Beirut in pol sc. Came to US in 1983 and received his PhD in comparative government from Georgetown University. Taught at Tufts University, Georgetown University, George Washington University, Colorado College, and Randolph-Macon Woman's College. Served as a Scholar-in-Residence at Middle East Institute in Washington DC. He served as free-lance Middle East consultant for NBC News and ABC News, an experience that only served to increase his disdain for maintream US media. He is now professor of political science at California State University, Stanislaus. His favorite food is fried eggplants.

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